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Archive for the ‘Adventures of Blue Roo’ Category

Blue Roo got a backstage tour of the Clark Center for Performing Arts last Tuesday when he came by to drop off a special donation. He learned all about the Green Room, where performer’s lounge and wait for their time in the spotlight. Although, Blue thought it should be called the Blue Room.

The Clark Center has been supporting the community’s performing arts since 2002. It is a state-of-the-art performing arts facility that was envisioned by Cliff and Mary-Lee Clark. A venture made possible by the The South County Performing Arts Building Foundation and the Lucia Mar Unified School District, the space is utilized by Arroyo Grande High School students and professional entertainers alike to provide entertainment for the community.

The upcoming 2014-2015 season starts next week, September 20th, with a performance of Defending the Caveman. It is the longest running solo play in Broadway history and explores the ways that men and women relate to each other. For all of the other performances happening this season, go to the Clark Center website.

The Blue Rooster Telecom team recently participated in the Miracle Mile for Kids, one of The Family Care Network’s annual fundraisers. The event raises money for foster and high-needs children in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Chrissy Cooper, our very own Customer Service Representative, was lucky enough to win an iPad mini that the MacSuperstore donated to the fundraising effort.

Since Blue Roo wasn’t able to walk in the Miracle Mile (Blue’s more of a strutter than a walker!), Chrissy brought him along to pick up her new iPad. There’s nothing Blue Roo loves more than helping out a good cause, making new friends, and new technology.

Stephanie McDonnell (Resource Coordinator for Family Care Network), Blue Roo and Chrissy Cooper at the Family Care Network office with the coveted MacSuperstore gift card for the iPad Mini.

Chrissy, the whole crew at MacSuperstore, and Blue Roo with the new iPad Mini that was donated.

While Bloo Roo enjoys a natural and unpolished crow in the morning, he also appreciates the more sophisticated melodies and harmonies that can be found at this summer’s Festival Mozaic.

Blue Roo swung by the Festival Mozaic headquarters to present a check to Executive Director Bettina Swinger as part of our Community Service Program. Festival Mozaic has been filling the Central Coast with classical music since 1971 (that’s over 380 Rooster years!) From July 17th to the 27th, world-class musicians will be playing at beautiful venues including Mission San Miguel, the Performing Arts Center, See Canyon Fruit Ranch, Mission Plaza and more! Tickets can be purchased here.

Donations help this non-profit organization showcase talented orchestral, choral, and studio musicians who participate in the summer festival’s celebration of five centuries of music. Blue was happy to add his voice to the many gifted artists who have performed in the festival.

Bill Schwoerer (Director of Sales), Jeff Buckingham (President), and Blue Roo have some fun while presenting the check to Festival Mozaic.

Blue Roo’s favorite subject in school has always been recess, so he could not wait to make a field trip to the North County Christian School (NCCS) in Atascadero.

As part of Blue Rooster Telecom’s Community Partner Program, Blue Roo recently presented a donation to NCCS. The funds will help the school continue its wide variety of excellent programs in academics, athletics, and the arts.

NCCS is the only private school in the North County that offers a preschool through 12th grade Christian education. The school is also unique in that it teaches a liberal arts style, great-books education, which strengthens students by introducing them to the thoughts, works, and history of Western civilization.

The folks at NCCS welcomed Blue Roo with many smiles, and he can’t wait to visit again in the future!

The Blue Rooster Telecom Community Partner Program was developed as a way for the company to give back to our community. Blue Rooster Telecom provides phone and Internet services to local nonprofit organizations at a discounted rate, and donates a percentage of the monthly bill back to the organization.

Regular blog readers will remember that Blue Rooster Telecom hosted the world’s first group crowing contest at the SLO Chamber’s Expo at the Expo a few weeks ago. There were two great teams as finalists, and after the votes were in, the winner was Advantage Answering Plus in San Luis Obispo. The grand prize was a lunch of the group’s choice delivered by Blue Roo and his crew.

So, last Thursday Blue Roo and his entourage headed over to deliver the goods and serve a delicious lunch to the Advantage Answering Plus team. Joan even provided a special homemade cake with a likeness of our favorite rooster to the delight of the winning team. Blue Roo loves attention, so he was right at home with the winners. He even had a chance to meet the Advantage Answering Plus company mascot, Peaches the cocker spaniel.

Company mascots Blue Roo and Peaches the cocker spaniel pose for a photo

Blue Roo enjoyed his personal tour of the Advantage Answering Plus facility. He met many of the 35 employees who provide answering and virtual receptionist services to customers throughout the Central Coast (and now nationwide, thanks to a recent expansion).

Jeff and the Advantage Answering Plus team crow for the camera

Your team could be the next group crowing contest winner with a little practice and a sense of adventure. Stay tuned for announcements of our next competition.

You may be surprised to learn that Blue Roo is a seasoned connoisseur of the arts (Animal Farm is a favorite). So, when he had the opportunity to make a donation to the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center (FPAC), he just couldn’t say no.

As a part of our Community Service Program, Blue Roo stopped by the beautiful FPAC office to drop off a donation of $320.78! Once Blue Roo arrived, he had no idea he would have the honor of presenting the check to Clifton Swanson, the FPAC Board President. Swanson has been an influential figure in the San Luis Obispo arts community for many years, so Blue Roo and Jeff were grinning ear-to-ear when they presented him with the check.

Blue Rooster Telecom is proud to help make a difference at the Performing Arts Center. Private donations allow for free admission for school matinee performances, greater upkeep of the facility, discounted rates for local non-profit performers, and much more. We are excited to keep up this excellent partnership with this excellent organization!

Few local companies can boast a legacy as impressive as GH Sports. The San Luis Obispo sports apparel maker was founded by the late Greg Hind, an innovative and respected entrepreneur whose philanthropy has left a lasting mark on our community. The company that bears his initials recently made a big move from the back of Hind Lane to S. Higuera Street, so Blue Roo decided to drop in and check out the new digs.

Blue Roo is welcomed by the GH Sports staff

Blue Roo takes a break outside GH Sports

When Blue Roo arrived, the experienced staff went above and beyond to get him just the right pair of running shoes (yes, roosters run, too). First, his little feet were measured, and then the staff analyzed his gait to find a shoe that fit him based on his own unique run. After a few minutes, the staff found the perfect pair of shoes for Blue Roo!

Blue Roo admires the shoes at GH Sports

Blue Roo gets his Gait analysis

After Blue Roo got his shoes, he needed some matching gear. Luckily, GH Sports makes its apparel right here in SLO. That’s just one of the many things that makes them so awesome.

Blue Roo gets fitted for his GH Sports gear

Thanks to our friends at GH Sports, Blue Roo is now sporting the best gear in San Luis Obispo as he works out. Congratulations to the team at GH Sports on the move. We’re sure Greg would be very proud.

Come one, come all! We are calling on all of you to help us make the most difficult decision of the year. Not only will we need all of you to decide who won our crowing contest at the SLO Expo at the Expo on Wednesday, May 21, but we need to find a group winner this year too!

We had some tough competition in our individual crowing contest. The folks here at Blue Rooster Telecom narrowed it down to the two best crowers. Congratulations to Matt Escabedo from KEYT and Eric Vieum from SLO Clean Energy. They are our final two individual crowers! Vote for the crow you think is the best-all-around crow. But don’t forget, below you can vote for the best group crow as well!

Now, here’s where things get interesting! For the first time ever, we have two group crowing finalists! The folks at Advantage Answering and Poly Pay rattled the Expo with their outstanding crows. Vote below for which crow you think should be our first-ever winning group crow.

Thanks for voting for our 2014 SLO Expo at the Expo Crowing Contest! For your viewing pleasure, we wanted to share with you some classic Blue Rooster Telecom moments. Below you will find some cameos by our very own Jeff Buckingham and Bill Schwoerer. Check out their crowing cameos with Tim Williams and David Nilsen.

In honor of National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day this week, Blue Roo just had to cruise on over to our friends at Best Bike Zone in Paso Robles. We have to admit, this visit got Blue Roo pretty pumped for Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 16.

What’s even better is that Blue Roo got to learn all about the energizer station that Best Bike Zone will be hosting the morning of Bike to Work Day. All bikers can stop by 13th and Spring St. for some energizing refreshments on their way to work between 7 and 9 am on Friday.

Blue Roo was thoroughly impressed with the creative and inspiring atmosphere at Best Bike Zone. He was ecstatic to have one of the owners, Steve, help him get prepared for Bike to Work Day.

Don’t forget, Friday is Bike to Work Day so dust off your bike and get those pedals going!

Have you ever wondered why there is so much less competition for telephone and Internet services in the USA as compared with other countries like the UK? The Blue Roo crew recently stumbled upon an excellent podcast on NPR about the current telecom regulatory situation in the USA. This Planet Money podcast tells the behind-the-scenes story about past regulatory decisions that have diminished competition and reduced the choices for consumers and businesses.

Today, it may seem silly to ask the question, ‘Is the Internet the same thing as the phone?’ However, 12 years ago, this was the question left for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to decide. In March 2002, Michael Powell, the FCC Chair at the time, decided that the phone and Internet were two separate entities and should be treated so.

What did this mean for the telecommunications world? AT&T, Verizon, and Cable companies did not have to share their fiber optic cables with other providers as many of them are required for telephone services. This meant fewer Internet options for consumers and less competition. The dream for this decision was that this would push companies to build better and faster connections for everyone. However, this was not the result of the decision.

So what did we learn from this podcast? We need to stop waiting for the next great pipe and change the rules for the pipes we already have. With that, lies innovation.

At AP Logic, when our internet is down, our business is down. Blue Rooster understands the nature of our business and was able to create a customized service at a very affordable price. They did this on short notice and coordinated with our other technical providers. Then they followed up with exceptional, personal service! We trust them and refer them frequently to friends and business associates. Jim Ratichek
AP Logic